Flexibly-supported tool.



. I PATENTED MAR. 10, 1908. T. NICHOLS. v FLEXIBLY SUPPORTED TOOL.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 12, 1906.

' STATES PATENT or tion;

THOMAS NICHSLS, OF TEMPLETON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF 'IO ELLIOTT I.

I McKNIGHT, OF GARDNER, MASSACHUSETTS.

FitExmLY-sUPPoRTEn 'rooL.

zen of the United States, residing at Temple..

ton, in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented a newandruseful Flexibly-Sup orted-Tool, of which'the following is a spec' cation.

My vention-relates to that class of tools which are operated by flexible shafts. Flexible shafting has been recognized for some years as being suitable for the operation of drills and certain other kinds of rotary tools.

The principal objects of my invention are to rovide means preferablyiin connection wit flexible shafting whereby the same can conveniently and efficiently be employed foroperating screw-drivers and the like which are employedintermittently whereby a great amount of labor may be saved in certain kinds of o erations; also to provide means whereby t e same construction can be em loyed for drills, angers, coun'tersi'nks, bu ers, sandpaper holders, or other tools operating continuously in a manner similar tothatheretofor'e employed, Without re lacing the parts of the instrument usecfor screw-drivers and the like, and to improve various features of tool o ierating devices as ear hereinafter. n order to accomwhereby ordinarily the screw-driver or other imglement will be held by a hold er supported Wlt the flexible shaft in such position that it will not be rotatedby the shaft. This is desirable for the reason that it is necessary to place the screw-driver in the slot of the screw before commencin justment being the device is to othero erations which do not necessitate the operation 'of the same. I have furt ermore provided means for automatically connectin thetool holder with the flexible shaft when t e screwdriver is placed against a stationary surface, as the slot of, the screwhead, and ressed uplon. Furthermore,Ihave provide means w ereby the tool holder can positively be connected with the flexible shaft so that it will rotate with it at all times, the latter 8.(l preferably em loyed when e used for dr1 ling and for the hol ing of the tool in stationary position at the commencement of the o eration. I

have also provided nie'ans where ythe position of the tool can be changed longitudinally, in other words, an adjustment ofthe length of the. flexible shaft.

Specification of Letters Patten t. Patent ed March 10, 190 8. Application filed October 12, 1906. Serial No. 338,600.

' While the invention is of utility in many industries, I have found it especially useful in applying screws to chairs in the manufacture of the latter. When employed in this" manner a flexible shaft construction eI'nbodying the principles of my invention is of great utility as it saves time in setting up chairs and also ermits the employment of relatively unskil ed labor, whereas heretofore, in this articular case it was necessary to'em loy labor of some skill and men having consi erable strength.

Reference is to be had to the accompanyingvdrawings in which, igure 1 is a perspective view showing a device constructed according to the principles of my invention as employed in the manufacture of chairs. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the flexible shaft and support partly in section. Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the lower part of the same on an enlarged scale, and Fig. 4 is a view similar to the lower part 3f ll lig. 2 showing the use of the device for a The flexible shaft may be driven in any desired way and in Fig. 1, I have illustrated a driving mechanism which has heretofore been employed. This involves a driven pulley 10 connected with the flexible shaft 11 which is mounted in a hollow flexible support 12. At the bottom of this shaft'it is intended to be connected with the tool holder 13. This tool holder is designed to hold ascrew-driver 14 or a drill 15 or'any other tool which it may be desired to em loy.

The tool holder is mounted inthe ower end of the flexible support 12 and is designed to be connected with and easily disconnected from, the flexible shaft for the purpose above mentioned. In order to secure these results, I have shown the lower end of the shaft as provided with a clutch section comprisin eccentric cavities 16 and also with a centra cavity 17. Inthe latter is located a spring 18'which sets in a similar cavity 19 in thetool holder. effect of the s ring is to yieldingly force the shaft and tool older apart or in other words,

to disconnect the tool holder from the shaft...

Obviously, the

It is desired the shaft at all times.

'necting the clutch sections 0 tool holder shall be picked up by the shaft and rotated therewith. For this purpose the tool holder is provided with a complementary clutch section, shown as comprising removable pins 20 adapted to enter the cavities 16. It is, of course, to be understood that one or more pins and cavities eccentric with respect to the shaft or tool holder, may be used and that any ordinary clutch or other means may be employed for forming the clutching action at this point.

It will be seen that when the device is pressed against the screw, the pins 20 are forced into the cavities 16 and the holder is rotated as long as pressure is applied. When released, the spring forces the clutch sections apart and the tool no longer rotates with the flexible shaft. It is to be noted that the pins 20, theparts upon which the greatest wear comes are removable, consequently, after the device has been in use long enough to wear these parts, they can readily be removed and replaced without damage to the rest of the tool holder. This is a source of great economy in the operation of a device of this character.

It will be observed that the tool holder is provided with an annular groove 21 and that the support 12 is provided with a set-screw entering the groove. In the operation above described, this set screw acts as a stop to limit the motion of the tool holder in both directions and to prevent the tooP holder from being removed from the support 12. If it is desired to remove the tool holder, this screw can be withdrawn and the tool holder can then be taken out in an obvious manner.

When it is desired to use a tool constructed in accordance with the princi les above illustrated for drills or other too s which do not have to be placed in any particular position before the o eration thereof is commenced,.

it is desirab e to provide for ositively conf the shaft and tool holder so that the tool will operate with For this purpose the groove 21 is provided with a deeper roove 23 at its lower side and when it is desired to operate tools in this manner, the tool holder is pushed up so as to engage the clutch sections which brings the groove 23 opposite the screw 22. This screw is then moved inwardly until it engages in said groove 23 against the shoulder 24 which is formed at its upper side.

The parts will nowappear as shown in Fig. 4 and the clutch sections will be positively connected so that the tool in the holder will rotate with the flexible shaft at all times.

It will be seen, therefore, that the device is applicable to toolswhich rotate at all times with the shaft and also to tools which must be placed in a particular position before the operationcommences.

In order to conveniently provide for moving the tool longitudinally as above described, I have made the support in telescoping sections, constituting tubes 25 and 26, one tube to move inside the other. On one of these sections I have fixedly mounted a clutch member 27 and on the other I have adj ustably mounted a similar clutch member 28 for engaging the member 27. A screw 25) is employed for fixing the member 28 to the tube 26. The tube 26 easily slides in the tube 25 and when the lower part of the support is moved longitudinally, the play of the parts is provided for by this clutch.

The upper part of the support 1 2 is, of course, non-rotatable and it is desired that the lower part be prevented from rotating also. This is accomplished by this clutch, the two parts of which are always in engagement with each other in all positions of the tool. This part of the device is of utility not only in moving the tool longitudinally, but in swinging it upwardly as it would otherwise tend to bind the parts.

If it is desired to hold the two tubes 25 and 26 in stationary position ith respect to each other, this can be done by tightening a screw 30, which passes through the section 27 on the tube 25, into engagement with the tube 26 within.

' While I have illustrated and described a particular construction in which I prefer to embody my invention, and a partimilar tool with which it may be used, I am aware that -modiiications may be made therein by any person skilled in the art to accomplish the same results and that.the invention may be used. for all kinds of rotary implements, tools, sandpaper holders, etc., without departing from'the scope of my invention as expressed in the claims. Therefore, I do not wish to be limited to the exact construction shown and described but What I do claim and desire to secure by Letters-Patent is 1. ln a flexibly supported tool, the combination of a flexible shaft, a hollow flexible support containing the shaft, a tool-holder, an adjustable screw for engaging the toolholder and positively holding the tool-holder in engagement with the shaft, and yielding means tending to disconnect the tool-holder from the shafts.

2. The combination with a shaft, of a tool-holder having a pair of grooves, one deeper than the other, the deeper groove being located at a greater distance from the shaft than the other groove, and means adapted to enter either of said grooves to fix the location of the tool-holder with respect to the shaft.

3. The combination of a shaft having a clutch section on the end thereof, a tool holder having a complementary clutch section, a spring between the shaft and tool holder for forcing the clutch sections apart,

" senses and means for positively holding the clutch sections to ether, saidmeans comprisin a groove on t e tool holder and an adjusta le member adapted to enter said groove when the clutch sections'are in engagement and to prevent the clutch section from becoming dise aged.

L The combination of a flexible shaft having an eccentric socket in its end, and a second socket, a tool holder having a pin adapted to engage said eccentric socket and having a socket registering with said second a tool-..holder mounted in said support, a-

clutch for connecting said tool ho der and shaft, resilient means for disconnecting the sections of said clutch, said support comprising telescoping tubes, and a clutch mounted on said tubes'for preventing the rotation of one independently of the other.

6. vThe combination of a flexible shaft, a hollow flexible support containing the shaft -and comprising telescoping tubes, and a clutch comprislng a clutch sectionfixedl mounted on one of said tubes, and a clutcli section mounted on the-other tube in such position that said clutchsections will remain in engagement in all positions of the telescoping tubes.

7. The combination of a flexible shaft, a

hollow flexible sup ort containing the shaft and comprising te escoping tubes, a clutch comprising a c utch section fixedly mounted on one of said tubes, a clutch section mounted on the other tube in such position that said clutch sections will remain in engagement in all positions of the telescoping tubes and a screw mounted in the larger of said telescoping sections and adapted to engage the smaller telescoping section and fix 1t with respect to the larger section.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, in the presence of two subscribing wltnesses.

THOMAS NICHOLS.

Witnesses:

ALBERT E. FAY, LEVI G. MCKNIGHT. 

